Raiders predicted to hire head coach who could bring elite offensive play-caller with him originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Las Vegas Raiders have cast a wide net for their head-coach search after firing Pete Carroll at the culmination of the 2025 season.
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Based on their reported interview requests and completed interviews, the Raiders have around a dozen candidates for their vacancy.
Not listed among those candidates is San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, who was widely expected to garner head-coach interest in 2026.
Despite that, ESPN's Dan Graziano, who points out the Raiders' interest in Saleh in the past, predicts that's exactly who the Raiders will hire.
"Saleh has been on Las Vegas' short list in the past, and his work in San Francisco this season has caught a lot of people's attention around the league. His Jets tenure didn't go great, but that's true of most people who coach there. It doesn't sound like teams will let his Jets tenure deter them from talking to him this time around," he said.
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While Saleh struck out as the New York Jets' head coach, he has done a fantastic job with the 49ers' defense in his two stints there.
This season might have been his best, though, as the Niners' defense remained competitive despite a slew of devastating injuries.
Perhaps the most intriguing thing about hiring Saleh would be the possibility that he brings former Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel with him.
McDaniel and Saleh were both on head coach Kyle Shanahan's staff together from 2017-2020 before Saleh took the Jets job in 2021.
That was the same year McDaniel was promoted to offensive coordinator, where he stayed for one season before getting the Dolphins head-coaching gig.
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McDaniel's tenure in Miami finished badly, but there's no denying he had some electric offenses with the Dolphins and he remains one of the most respected offensive minds in the game as a result.
McDaniel would be a top-notch hire, especially for a Raiders team that is expected to take a quarterback at No. 1 overall in the draft.
That said, McDaniel is garnering interest for head-coaching vacancies, so he may not even be available if the Raiders hire Saleh.
It's also worth noting that he would be in high demand for offensive coordinator jobs if he doesn't land a head-coach gig, so the Raiders would have competition.
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But if McDaniel has to settle for an offensive coordinator job and the Raiders bring Saleh in as the head coach, Las Vegas would be considered a front-runner to land the former Dolphins head coach because of his connection to Saleh.
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